Sunday, June 01, 2008

Liberal Left: Constantly Petrified with Terror

I was just cruising through some financial new sites and came up with this headline at CNN/Money:

Hurricanes Could Mean $6 Gas

(No link since these main heads change throughout the day.)

The linked story, which you get on the jump, has the following head and subhead:

An ill wind for gas pricesTraders say that even though you're already paying for the hurricane season, the price could spike to $6 a gallon if catastrophe strikes.

COULD.

IF

Ever notice how many MSM "stories" indulge in this crap? All it is is hype, conjectural stories penned by lazy journalists involving sound bites from their favorite alarmists about this and that. Especially if it involves the latest "global warming" terrorism.

Try this quote from the story we've just cited:

Peter Beutel, oil analyst at Cameron Hanover Beutel, said if a Katrina-like hurricane were to hit in July, gas prices could go as high as $5 or even $6.

Now we don't know Mr. Beutel, and we don't blame him for his opinion since the pump was obviously primed. What was the likely question he was asked? Maybe something like, "Mr. Beutel, what would happen to gas prices if another Katrina hits?" That's how you get an answer like the above. It's a rational answer, but the question is bogus, alarmist, and meant to elicit the desired frightening response.

What if the reporter had asked "Mr. Beutel, assuming we have a benign hurricane season like last year, which didn't live up to all the Weather Channel hype, how low could gas prices go? And Mr. Beutel might have responded, "Well, if per barrel prices roughly continue their downward trajectory from last week, we could see per barrel prices decline to $90-100 per barrel and gas prices at the pump could dip close to $3.00 a gallon after Labor Day."

But obviously, that type of question is one that's never asked. The focus is always on fear.

This is an interesting characteristic of leftists, whether in journalism and government. They appear to have a vested interest in emphasizing the negative and keeping the populace in some kind of fear over something. Usually something that "requires" more government or higher taxes to "fix." Keep an eye out for these bogus stories. Not only do they emphasize the kind of hyped fear that allegedly keeps readers showing up. They also relentlessly steer the electorate to demand the government do "more" to protect them. Which ultimately means that the government will have to take "more" from our collective wallets to redistribute to the usual suspects.

It's a longstanding game we can ill afford. Be aware of what's being done. And remember: Things COULD get a lot worse. But they also COULD get a lot better.